Travel options:
• Eurostar™ direct to Paris
• scheduled flights available

Our hotels: Paris Hotels
Hand-picked for their standard, location and value for money, you can be assured that, whichever hotel you choose, you will never find yourself on the outskirts of the city, nor will you end up in one of the less fashionable areas of Paris. Instead, we offer the more attractive and romantic quarters such as the well-known Quartier Latin or La Madeleine, areas where you will always find a good choice of bars, bistros and brasseries, Métro stations and attractions close by. Due to the age and architectural design of city-centre buildings, most Parisian hotel rooms tend to be smaller than their UK counterparts (with correspondingly limited wardrobe and drawer space). However, you will always find comfortable rooms equipped with bath/wc or shower/wc, telephone and TV and double or twin beds. All hotels have a lift, but please check with us if this is important to you, as some floors may not be served. Finally, remember that if you need help choosing the hotel that suits you best, please do not hesitate to contact us – we’ll be delighted to help! Click here to download the Paris Hotels brochure.

Exhibition: Major exhibitions in Paris are invariably sell-out affairs and this is likely to be no exception. The exhibition's central theme is Turner's desire to compete with the works of the great artists he encountered on his extensive travels. This theme is carefully examined through a series of 50 or so pairings, each comprising a Turner hung side-by-side with a Masterpiece by one of 30 artists, thus illustrating not just the similarities but, just as critically, the differences and the evolution of style that transformed what would otherwise be an imitation, into an original work of art. Each pairing of course features Turner, but alongside we also discover Canaletto, Titian, Rembrandt, Rubens, Veronese and Constable, to name but a few. Appropriately for a Paris exhibition, the French artists Poussin and Lorrain were particularly inspirational in nurturing Turner's passion as a landscape artist and both Poussin's The Deluge and Lorrain's Moses saved from the Waters feature alongside Turner's own interpretations. 

As the exhibitions leads us through these remarkable pairings, the visitor is left with a clear impression that Turner's work was actually created to hang alongside its inspiration. At the same time, the exhibition provides a lesson in the history of art as the visitor discovers the evolution of styles and genres that began with the detailed paintings of the 17^th century and finished with the harmonies of colour and the glimmering effects of light that gave birth to Impressionism. 

The exhibition, held in the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, runs from 24 February to 24 May 2010. Although you bypass initial queues for tickets, as with all major exhibitions, you may still have to queue for admission, especially at busy times such as weekends and French bank holidays (Easter Sunday/Monday & 8 May). The exhibition is open from 1000 to 2000 Wednesdays to Mondays and from 0930 to 1400 on Tuesdays. The exhibition is closed all day on 1 May.

Our short break includes:
• either return standard-class travel from St Pancras, Ashford or Ebbsfleet International by Eurostar™ direct to Paris
• or return scheduled flight from London or a selection of regional airports (supplements apply)
• two nights' bed and breakfast accommodation at your chosen hotel in central Paris
• entrance to the Turner exhibition at the Grand Palais